9 June 2010

Dear Abahlali baseMjondolo,

Thank you so much for your letter of support, which I received in person from Graham Philpott and Bishop Rubin, here in London on 26 May. I agree very much with what you say about philosophy: any ‘radical philosophy’ worthy of the name must put people before money, and put people’s dignity before people’s property or authority.

I received your letter the day before students and colleagues in my little programme at Middlesex University undertook a symbolic protest that was inspired in part by the example you have set in the last few years. Our programmes and our research centre are being shut down, and the people involved with them are being forced to scatter & go elsewhere. After occupying a couple of university buildings in previous weeks, we resolved then to come together and make a sort of temporary ‘camp for displaced students and teachers’, so as to show the university that we would do our best to preserve our programmes and our research centre. http://savemdxphil.com/2010/05/30/photos-from-the-hendon-rally-and-occupation-27-28-may-2010/

Yesterday (8 June) we finally decided that the only way to preserve this centre was to move it somewhere else, to another university (Kingston, in south-west London). http://savemdxphil.com/2010/06/08/announcement-8-june-the-crmep-is-moving-to-kingston-university/#comments. This was a very difficult decision to take. I see it partly as a victory, and partly as an acknowledgement of defeat. I hope it in the long term it will prove to be a victory. We have preserved a place in our city for the small but unique community that has built up around our research centre and its distinctive set of interests and priorities, and this will remain a place where the criteria for entry and participation remain as open as possible. It is much better than nothing. But we haven’t been able to accomplish this at Middlesex itself, or with the participation of all our colleagues.

As you know much better than me, it is sometimes difficult to know how best to hold the ground you occupy, and how best to decide what needs to be given up, in order to allow an embattled project to continue. Like many others I will continue to look to Abahlali for clarity and inspiration!

yours in solidarity,

Peter.